Leaps of Faith – Matthew 9

A text – Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
9:10 And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.
9:11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
9:12 But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
9:13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
9:18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
9:19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
9:20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak,
9:21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”
9:22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” and instantly the woman was made well.
9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.
9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.
9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district.

A reflection:

Two miracles when Jesus saved women in a time when he was being criticized no matter what he did. One miracle restored an outcast to her loved ones, and the other restored a dead girl to her parents.

The woman suffering from hemorrhages would probably have been kept out of polite society by the Jewish laws against mingling with females during their “unclean” time of the month. Twelve years of this condition would no doubt have seen her lose her marriage, lose the chance to be an aunt and be a friend, celebrate Sabbath and holidays with the persons she loved. She might have felt as good as dead.

She heard of Jesus’s power to heal, and being prohibited from touching him, she felt if she just touched his clothing she could still be healed. So, believing, she went for it. And Jesus immediately understood her predicament, saw her, recognized her determination and faith, and healed her, pronouncing her faithful.

The synagogue leader whose daughter had died was also probably going against the opinions of those in authority among Jewish leaders, who were skeptical (at best) and completely opposed (at worst) to the work of Jesus. Yet this father was desperate and came to Jesus and boldly asked him to bring his daughter back from the dead. Lazarus was not the first resurrection Jesus accomplished. This father believed. The mourners laughed at Jesus. But he paid them no heed and went in and did as the girl’s father had asked, because he asked in faith.

These bold seekers of miracles were living in a world that would have put distance between themselves and Jesus, yet they leapt across that distance, that divide, and in faith asked Jesus to help them, believing Jesus could and would. You have to want something pretty bad to leap across a divide. What would you or I leap for? Have we tried it yet? And how will our leap be based on God’s great love?

A prayer:

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Help us to believe in miracles and to really want them, faithful to Jesus and the power of the great love of God. Whatever we experience as a result, Jesus will be walking with us and we will feel our relationship with God get stronger and deeper.  Amen.